How to Query a Pasted List of Constituents in Altru (and What Works Better)

Someone hands you a spreadsheet with 140 lookup IDs, or a column of emails from an event sign-in sheet, and asks, “Can you pull these people in Altru?” Your first instinct is to open a query, add a filter, and paste the whole column in. That’s where things get awkward.

Here’s what tends to work, what doesn’t, and the workarounds Altru administrators use when the list is too long to type.

The short answer

Altru’s query filters handle a handful of values well, but they aren’t built for pasting a long column from Excel into a single criterion. With a “one of” style operator you can usually add several values to one filter, though in practice you enter them one at a time. Behavior can differ by field type and by your Altru version, so test it with a short list in your own environment before you promise anyone a quick turnaround. If you aren’t sure, ask Blackbaud support whether bulk entry is supported for the field you’re filtering on.

For anything longer than a dozen or so values, it’s usually faster to change the problem: get the list into Altru as something you can filter on, or pull Altru data out and match it against the list outside the system.

Option 1: Type the values for short lists

For five to fifteen values, just enter them. Some tips that save rework:

• Filter on the most stable identifier you have. Lookup IDs beat names. Names have typos, nicknames, and duplicates.
• Clean the list first. Trim spaces, remove blank rows, and dedupe in Excel before you start entering anything.
• Save the query with a clear name and description noting where the list came from and the date, so the next person doesn’t wonder why there’s a hard-coded list of IDs in it.

Option 2: Tag the records, then query the tag

This is the approach that scales. Instead of putting the list in the query, put a marker on the records and filter on the marker.

1. Pick a marker. A constituent attribute (for example, “2026 Gala Attendee” or “Board Prospect List – Oct”) is the usual choice. Some teams use a constituency or a tag-style code if that’s how their database is organized. Create a dedicated value so it doesn’t collide with anything already in use.
2. Get the marker onto the records. If your Altru setup includes an import or batch process that can add attributes by lookup ID, format your spreadsheet to match its template and run it. Try five rows first and check the results on the constituent records before running the full file. If you’re not sure what import options your license includes, check with Blackbaud support rather than experimenting on live data.
3. Build the query on the marker. Filter where the attribute equals your new value. Now the query returns exactly the list, and you can add any output fields, smart fields, or additional filters you need.
4. Turn it into a selection if others need it. A saved selection from that query can feed reports, mailings, or other queries.

A side benefit: the tag stays on the record. Six months from now, when someone asks “who was on that list?”, the answer is still in Altru instead of in an email attachment.

Option 3: Find a shared characteristic

Before tagging anything, look at the list and ask why these people are on it. Often the list is really “everyone who bought a certain program,” “members at a given level who expired last spring,” or “households in these ZIP codes.” If the underlying rule exists in Altru data (sales, memberships, revenue, addresses), filter on the rule instead of the names. It’s more accurate, and you can rerun it next year.

ZIP codes and similar short code lists are the one case where entering a moderate list of values directly is often reasonable.

Option 4: Match outside Altru

Sometimes you don’t need a query that returns the list. You need to know what Altru knows about the people on the list: their membership status, their last visit, whether they’re already a donor. In that case:

1. Build a broad query in Altru with lookup ID, email, and the fields you care about.
2. Export the results to Excel or a spreadsheet tool.
3. Use a lookup formula (XLOOKUP, VLOOKUP, or INDEX/MATCH) to pull Altru fields next to each row of the original list.
4. Flag rows that didn’t match. Those are either new people or records with a different email, which is worth a second look before you create anything new.

This keeps your query generic and lets you reuse it for every list that shows up. The weak point is that the export is a snapshot. If someone renews tomorrow, your spreadsheet won’t know.

Common snags

• Leading zeros and formatting. Excel may strip zeros or turn IDs into numbers. Format the column as text before copying.
• Emails that match more than one record. Shared household emails and duplicates will return extra rows. Match on lookup ID when you can.
• Stale tags. Attributes added for a one-time list should have an end date or a clear naming convention, so they can be found and cleaned up later.

Keeping the outside copy current

If matching lists against Altru data in a spreadsheet is something your team does every week, re-exporting the query each time gets old. Data Bridge syncs Altru query results to Google Sheets (and tools like Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign), so the lookup in Option 4 runs against a current copy of the data instead of last Tuesday’s export. Altru stays where the records live and get edited.

Quick answers

Can I paste a column of IDs straight into an Altru query filter?
Don’t count on it for long lists. Test with a few values in your environment, and confirm with Blackbaud support if bulk entry matters for your workflow.

What’s the most reliable way to query an arbitrary list of constituents?
Add a dedicated attribute to those records, then filter the query on that attribute.